


Spider's Catch Truths In A Web Of Secrets

by TheDarkestDandelion



Series: The Daemon, the Soldier and a Stolen Bio-Weapon AU [113]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Acceptance, Angst, Apologises, Ardyn Izunia Being Ardyn Izunia, Ardyn Izunia Is An Idiot, Attempt at Humor, Confusion, Cor Leonis Needs a Hug, De-Cluttering, Drama, Fluff, Fluff Is At The Beginning, Happy Ending, Hugs, Hurt Cor Leonis, Hurt/Comfort, Interuptions, Kisses, Love, M/M, Making Out, Married Life, Pain, Parent Cid Sophair, Prompto Argentum Is a Sweetheart, Revelations, Secrets, Tears, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, this could have been smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-20
Updated: 2020-10-27
Packaged: 2021-03-08 19:28:16
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,447
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27111967
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheDarkestDandelion/pseuds/TheDarkestDandelion
Summary: Cor forcefully dropped two heavy full bags by Ardyn’s feet, giving him a cold look as he folded his arms over his chest.Ardyn gave him a pained look, turning to stare out of the opened door, and then back to the man in front of him. With a heavy heart, he let out a sigh. “So… it has finally come to this, has it?”“What did you expect, Ardyn?” Cor replied bluntly.
Relationships: Aranea Highwind & Cor Leonis, Ardyn Izunia/Cor Leonis
Series: The Daemon, the Soldier and a Stolen Bio-Weapon AU [113]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1310333
Comments: 22
Kudos: 26





	1. Life Is As Perfect As It Can Be

**Author's Note:**

> We are not done with the angst yet my lovely people!!! (Laughs Evilly) I mean we are still in the World Of Ruin and I haven't made Iggy blind yet.... yeah that's coming fairly soon....
> 
> Anyway, WhoStarLocked has kindly prodded me to write this idea I had, so here you are. Blame them! XD (Only joking XD)
> 
> Please enjoy.... I don't think that is the right word though...

Cor forcefully dropped two heavy full bags by Ardyn’s feet, giving him a cold look as he folded his arms over his chest.

Ardyn gave him a pained look, turning to stare out of the opened door, and then back to the man in front of him. With a heavy heart, he let out a sigh. “So… it has finally come to this, has it?” 

“What did you expect, Ardyn?” Cor replied bluntly. 

“That you would at least be a little more sensitive about this.” 

Cor scoffed. “Sensitive?! Are you being serious?!” 

“Yes! Do you know how old that stuff is?!” 

“Hence why I am making you get rid of it. When was the last time you actually looked at any of this?!” 

Ardyn pouted, which only proved Cor’s point further. “You don’t understand. There are things in here that are very dear to my heart.” 

“Oh yeah?” Cor asked, voice full of sarcasm. 

“Yes, and I will prove it to you.” Ardyn huffed, routing through one of the bags aimlessly. 

Cor couldn’t help but let out a sigh as he watched. Fortunately, Cor had married the best person he had ever met, unfortunately though, it also meant he had married a hoarder. Since moving back into the Citadel, Cor finally realised the extent of Ardyn’s bad habits, but not only was the area that they were meant to live in for the rest of their lives chockablock with ancient crap but so was an entire abandoned ballroom that Ardyn had somehow managed to convince one of the Kings to let him use as storage. If Ardyn had strongly suggested that they live here for the rest of their lives, Cor was refusing to live drowning in rubbish. So some of it had to go. 

“Ha ah!” Ardyn sang with triumph as he pulled out a gauntlet made entirely out of gold, with real diamonds and jewels attached to it. “You are telling me to get rid of this?! When one of these diamonds could make you as rich as sin!” 

Cor raised an eyebrow. “Yeah, in a society where we actually have the sunlight and people have money to spare. Oh wait, we have none of that.”

“Well, that means we can keep it and wait for the dawn to come back.” Ardyn grinned, putting on the side. 

Cor grabbed it off the side shaking his head. “No it doesn’t mean that. We’re royalty. We will be rich anyway…” 

“Oh look at you finally accepting the family you have married in to.” Ardyn laughed, catching him out. 

“Yeah, yeah, but I still have a point.” Cor stated, refusing to back down from this.

This went on and on for a further ten minutes. Ardyn would pull something out of the bags and do his best to convince Cor that he  _ had _ to keep it. Because the item was either a gift from one of his many dead nieces or nephews, or that it was an object he had been killed by so it held some sentimental value, or Cor’s personal favourite, because it was shiny. For some reason Ardyn had grown obsessed with shiny objects and Cor couldn’t figure out why it was weird. But then again Ardyn was weird, so it kinda made sense… kinda…

The Marshal didn’t give a flying fuck if it was shiny! What mattered was decluttering the place out so they could actually live in it! “Clearly this isn’t working. I know you will find any way you can to keep all this shit.” 

“You know me so well!” Ardyn grinned with delight, kissing his husband sweetly. 

“I know.” Cor sighed with gratitude, blushing away. He was so grateful he knew Ardyn as well as he did. Not bothering to hide the pink in his cheeks, he tried to come up with a solution to their problem. “Since there is only one way to get through to your child-like mind, how about we play a game.” 

Ardyn’s face lit up, and to prove his husband’s very true statement, he started jumping up and down, clapping his hands together as he continued to sing out his words. “YES! Game! Game!” 

_ You are going to regret agreeing to this.  _ Cor thought to himself with a smirk. “Fine, here’s a deal. If you haven’t laid eyes on an object since before the day I was born, it goes. Anything after my birth stays.” 

Ardyn’s happy demeanour stopped instantly and his face turned into a frown. “No.” 

“Umm, yes.” 

“No. Because, darling, I see what you are trying to do but we can’t do a 10 year test. Because for me a 10-year test would actually be a 200-year test if you wanted to play this fairly.” 

“Yes, but how many times have you claimed I am the most important thing in your life and anything before me doesn’t matter to you anymore?” 

Ardyn fell silent. 

“See. Anyway, that is still 50 years! That is a bloody long time!” Cor exclaimed, trying his hardest not to remember how old he truly was. In order to do that, he quickly distracted himself by picking up a very old spear. “When did you last look at this?” 

“When Mors was 10….” Ardyn said sheepishly, looking away from Cor, not conspicuously at all! 

Cor held his hands up, shaking his head. “I don’t even want to know. But that is more than 50 years ago so it can go.”

“Fine.” Ardyn moaned, placing it back near the bags. 

This continued for a further two hours. It would have gone on for longer if Ardyn hadn’t purposely started to irritate Cor by poking him in the side or trying to distract him with lots and lots of stolen kisses. Luckily for Ardyn though, the kissing worked in his favour. Cor slammed the door shut, let Ardyn push him up against the wall and devoured his lips. Cor breathed out heavily as Ardyn kissed along his jawline. 

“Oh darling, I love the way your beard feels on my face.” Ardyn hummed in bliss, rubbing his face against Cor’s. 

“Stop talking!” Cor ordered, bashing his lips against Ardyn’s again. 

Ardyn laughed into their kiss and hoisted Cor’s legs over his waist with ease. “You are getting feisty aren’t you!”

“I’d prefer it if you were the feisty one this time.” Cor murmured, getting annoyed that Ardyn kept on talking. He got further annoyed when Ardyn pulled away and gave him an odd look. “What?” 

“What do you mean by that?” Ardyn asked breathlessly, as Cor leant his head against his husband’s. 

Cor gulped, nerves setting in his stomach as they hadn’t done what Cor was about to suggest in over 7 years, but he was certain that he wanted to do this. “I want you to top.” 

Ardyn smiled at him softly and kissed his nose. “I’d be delighted to, my darling.” 

However, before they could get any further Cor’s phone started to vibrate. 

“For fuck’s sake!” Cor gritted his teeth, reaching into his pocket, still in Ardyn’s hold as he rummaged around for the damned thing. Ardyn was giggling away at him, and Cor decided it was best to ignore Ardyn instead of hushing him. Angrily answering the phone, he didn’t even look to read the caller ID. “What?!” 

_ “Bad timing?”  _ Clarus’s voice said, burning Cor’s ears. 

“Like you wouldn’t believe.” Cor muttered out, glaring at Ardyn who hadn’t stopped silently laughing at him. “This better be important.” 

_ “I think helping our best friend in running the kingdom is fairly important, Cor.”  _

Not as important as having sex with my husband, Cor thought to himself, biting his lip so the words didn’t accidentally slip out of his mouth. 

“Fine. In half an hour’s time?” Cor said with hope in his tone, as Ardyn shifted him to a more comfortable position. 

_ “No. Now. Hence the reason for the call… what are you doing anyway?”  _

“He’s trying to do me but you are spoiling it Amicitia.” Ardyn laughed, putting his face near the phone.

“Ardyn shut up!” Cor snapped, face turning crimson. “Ignore him.” 

“Oh yes, sorry it’s the other way around.” 

“We’ll be there in 5 minutes.” Cor growled, hanging up immediately, just catching a sound of discomfort from Clarus.

This was going to be a fun meeting…

* * *

All the way through that long two-hour meeting with not only Clarus and Regis; but Somnus, Gilgamesh, Nyx, Ravus, Luna, Aranea Highwind, Gladiolus, Ignis, Prompto, Iris, Wesk and Camelia Claustra, Cor did not look at his older brother once. Ardyn did. Ardyn couldn’t stop laughing, prompting Prom - their own baby boy - to ask in front of everyone ‘what in the name of the six’ was Ardyn laughing at. At that question, Cor wanted to find a hole and die in it. Why did this have to happen? Why? Thankfully though, Ardyn made up some lie about Clarus being a prat and out of respect for his little brother, Clarus went along with it. Because Regis and Wesk laughed, everyone ended up believing the tale. Much to Cor’s relief. 

Once the meeting was over, Cor got abandoned by Ardyn because Prompto wanted to show him something, and apparently, Cor wasn’t allowed to see or know anything about it. Meaning it was going to be his birthday present.  _ Great _ … Now his son was getting him a gift when he should be using all his resources on his blind fiance, who needed all the attention from his son… that made Cor feel utterly fantastic and not like a piece of shit at all. He didn’t even like his birthday! Why was Prom wasting his precious time and energy on him?! 

“Hey Marshal?” 

Cor turned around at Aranea’s voice. He gave her a nod as a greeting and, if he was honest, he was a little confused why she was speaking to him. They didn’t chat all that much and when they did, it was only ever in a meeting room and it was only ever about strategy and battle plans, with other people in the room. No one else was in the room with them currently. It felt a little weird, considering he used to be her enemy but now he was just indifferent to the woman. However, he did get a little embarrassed when he remembered that the 10-year-old version of her nearly saw him and Ardyn getting it on in a back alley of Gralea on their honeymoon. Yeah... he needed to stop thinking about that right now! 

“Hey?” 

“Mind if I have a word?”

Well, Ardyn didn’t look like he was coming back anytime soon and Prompto was clearly busy sorting out something he really needn’t waste his time on… might as well kill some time until either one of them came back. “What about?” 

“Something or nothing really. Look, I wanted to say no hard feelings and I am sorry.” Aranea said, with genuine remorse in her voice. 

Cor gave her a blank expression, thinking,  _ what the hell was she on about? _ They didn’t interact a lot, as far as Cor could tell she hadn’t actively done anything bad against him- Wait! She was a mercenary, could this be apologising for targeting his head a few years back? Cor highly doubted that. She wasn’t the type of person to apologise over work. Especially not since she would have been paid to do so. 

Cor rubbed the back of his neck, still very confused. “I’m gonna say it was more on the ‘nothing’ side, Aranea, since I have no clue what you’re on about.” 

She gave him an equally confused look back and then let out the deepest most regretful sigh Cor had ever heard. “That bastard. He said he’d told you.” 

“Who told me what?” 

“Just forget I said anything Marshal. I think that might be better in the long run.” Aranea said, giving him a comical salute with two of her fingers, before turning to leave. 

“Wait a second.” Cor said, curiosity growing tenfold. “You can’t leave that there. What are you saying sorry for?” 

“Trust me, Leonis, you don’t want to know.” 

“Guess again, I do.” 

“Really? Cause I wouldn’t.” Aranea said, stopping in her tracks so they could actually talk to each other. 

Cor shrugged. “I won’t know unless you tell me.” 

Again, hearing nothing but regret in her sigh, Cor felt his anxiety heighten and his nerves skyrocket. He couldn’t put his finger on it as to why he was feeling this way, but he almost felt... dread in the pit of his stomach. Why did he feel like this?

“If you want to know, fine.” She said hesitantly. “To be fair to him, it did happen when you two split up so it’s not that bad.” 

“What’s not that bad?” Cor asked, stomach-churning. 

“I am saying sorry cause I _honestly_ thought you knew. Right, you see, during the time that you two had _broken up_ , Ardyn and I slept together.” 


	2. Then You Have To Go And Wreck It

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let's carry on with this fallout, shall we...

“Do you think dad will like it?” 

“Like it?!” 

Ardyn exclaimed, shocked that his son would doubt that Cor would any less than love it! How couldn’t he love it?! Prompto had managed to acquire an old katana and crafted the handle in the shape of a lion’s head. His baby boy was so talented and Ardyn only wished that Prompto would see all the potential he possessed. Although Prom did have Ignis with him now and his nephew’s advisor constantly encouraged and loved his son with all his heart. Ardyn couldn’t be happier for the pair of them. Even if he was a teeny weeny bit jealous that Ignis had taken Prom away from him. Only a little jealous. Minutely. 

“He will love it Sunbeam!” 

“Really? You know he hates us celebrating his birthday.” Prompto pointed out; a pang of guilt stinging in his chest in case he made Cor feel uncomfortable in any way when he did eventually hand the gift over to his dad. 

Ardyn laughed and poked his son on the nose. “Yes, but we celebrate the day-on-which-he-happened-to-be-born, don’t we? Not the same thing.” 

Prompto wiped his nose, trying not to sneeze. “Dad, you do know how old am I, right?” 

“Of course, I do. You’re 26. How could I possibly forget your age, Sunbeam?!” 

“Then don’t poke me on the nose like I am a 10-year-old boy!” 

“Oooo sorry, mister adult!” Ardyn let out a laugh of mockery, raising his hands up as if he was surrendering. 

“I behave more like an adult then you do half the time.” 

“And I will never dispute that.”

“Good cause-” 

“Adagium!” 

Both Ardyn and Prom ended their conversation and looked in the direction of a very angry voice and poor Prompto was surprised it had come from Aranea. She was usually so chill and put up with his dad’s antics- oh gods! What had Ardyn done now? Ardyn on the other hand was less than surprised that he was being shouted at, it happened daily, but he, like Prom, was confused why she was shouting at him. He hadn’t done anything bad today, had he? He might have done. He did purposely make everyone wait for him and Cor by refusing to teleport to the meeting room so he could spend a few more moments with his husband… so perhaps that was it? Since Aranea liked to scarper off somewhere or other, trying her best to conceal her secret from the rest of the world. Ardyn still really wanted to find out what it was. 

“I do have a name you know, I would prefer it if you use that, Miss Highwind.” Ardyn said a tad offended by her outburst.

“You're offended?!” Aranea scoffed. “I think your husband is the one who gets to be offended here!!!” 

“Huh?” Prom questioned, glancing up at his dad. 

“It’s alright Prom, I don’t have a clue what she is going on about.” Ardyn said truthfully. 

Sometimes he honestly thought people went out of the way to blame him for things he simply had not done. He was an easy target after all. Something bad happens, blame the daemon. Story of his life. But how could he have possibly offended Cor-

“Don’t lie to your son!” Aranea snapped. “You told me Leonis knew, you bastard!” 

In less then a second, Ardyn’s entire face dropped. 

He didn’t need any more information to know what she was referring to. In shock, completely forgetting that his son was right next to him, he stared at her, gritting his teeth together as he uttered out harshly. “You did what?!” 

“Don’t blame this on me!” Aranea spat back. “If you hadn’t lied I wouldn’t have felt the need to say sorry.” 

Ardyn felt something tug at his arm, he couldn’t even register it was Prom for his fears had spiked to the max and he had to find Cor and quickly!

“Dad, what is this about-” 

“He has depression and suffers with alcoholism, you stupid woman!” Ardyn growled, bearing his teeth at her, stalking passed her, desperate to find his husband. “Of course I lied! I knew he wouldn’t be able to cope with this information!” 

“Yeah, I gathered that! He’s in bits! And I am not saying this to be a bitch! I am telling you this cause he should have heard it from you or not at all.” 

Fearing for his husband’s mental state, heart racing, blood rushing to his ears, Ardyn went into a frenzy and teleported as fast as he could to all his husband’s usual hiding spots. Both of their offices, Regis’s and Clarus’s offices, the guard training hall, their home within the Citadel, their old house that now belonged to Prom and Ignis, Ardyn even checked on the roof to make sure Cor wasn’t up there. Nothing he couldn’t find him anywhere. Feeling cold sweat drip down his back, Ardyn rushed down to the cellar in case this information had caused what he feared and thankfully it hadn’t. The door was locked and it didn’t look as if it had been forced open. At least that was something. Having no luck in finding his Marshal, Ardyn called him and Cor didn’t answer, it went straight to voicemail. Panic leaping up into his throat, Ardyn did the only sensible thing he could think up and went straight to Regis, Clarus and Wesk to find out if they had seen him. He was probably going to get shot for revealing this to them, but he honestly didn’t care, as long as they found Cor and he was safe, that was all that mattered to Ardyn right now. 

Not allowing any of them to speak when Ardyn did eventually find them, he admitted how weak and poor his actions had been and that he wanted to fix it, scourge tears daring to drip from his eyes. 

Needless to say, Clarus was furious. Wesk let out a sigh and made it his job to prevent Clarus from killing Ardyn on sight. Leaving Regis with the task of calming Ardyn down. When Ardyn fully explained it all to him, Regis was in two mindsets. Yes, he was saddened on Cor’s behalf but it occurred when they weren’t together. Regis couldn’t and wouldn’t hold that against his uncle when he didn’t really do anything wrong. However, he was a little disappointed Ardyn had left it this long to tell his little brother. Regis was under the impression that they had no secrets in their relationship anymore (other than Somnus’s future sacrifice for Ardyn and Noctis), so why did Ardyn think it was a good idea to keep his mouth shut?! 

“Because if I had said anything at all when we got back together, unbeknown to us all, he was probably drinking a bottle of whisky to himself every night. So when I did find out about the drinking I thought it best not to upset him even further.” Ardyn explained, itching to get back out there and find Cor. 

“Uncle it’s okay.” Regis said, trying to ease him down but Clarus had other ideas.

“It is not okay!” The Shield sneered. “Where the hell his Cor?!” 

“I don’t know. He won’t answer his phone.” Ardyn said, a single black tear falling. “I thought I was doing right in protecting his feelings.” 

“Ardyn it’s alright. We will find him and we can sort everything out then.” 

“Not if Cid finds Cor first. Cause you will be dead Ardyn.” 

Ardyn couldn’t help up gulp. Why did Cid have to be here- oh shit! 

In a panic, Ardyn started flapping about. “I left Prom on his own!” 

* * *

“Maybe you two should start an ‘I hate Ardyn fan club’. I honestly think it will catch on.” 

Somnus smirked as he continued to watch his Shield and Mr Sophiar get on like a house on fire. It was pretty amusing. To begin with, Cid was quite protective over Cor and scolded his Shield for being a total twat to his brother-in-law, and unsurprisingly it shut Gilgamesh right up. No one ever wanted to be on the receiving end of Cid’s motor mouth. Somnus certainly did not. Anyone who made the daemons want to run and hide was a force to be reckoned with, even if the man in question was 77 years of age. Then it turned into a conversation about Cid’s amazing ability to terrify Ardyn and all of a sudden they had found this connection and it looked as if they were on their way to becoming fast friends. Somnus could live with that as long as Gilgamesh actually protected him when Cid went off on one. 

“In what world wouldn’t it catch on.” Cid laughed, sitting in a chair.

“A world that only consists of him.” Gilgamesh stated, knowing how vain Ardyn could be.

“Nah.” Cid shook his head. “He hates himself. He’d end up goin’ crazy.” 

“True.” 

“This is my brother you two are talking about.” Somnus said quickly, hoping to get Gilgamesh to tone it down a little. He knew there was no point asking it of Cid. 

“Sorry, My King.” 

“I don’t care.” 

“I know you don’t.” Somnus rolled his eyes. 

“Then don’t point it out.” 

“I can see why people don’t like you Mr Sophiar.” Somnus muttered, irritated by the man’s endless bluntness (rudeness). 

“Same goes for you, Kingy.” 

Somnus and Gilgamesh glanced at each other. Somnus silently warned Gilgamesh not to even attempt to try and defend him, while Gilgamesh looked at him assuring him he wouldn’t dare. They did not want to poke the bear any further today. Although the entitled part of the Founder King loathed it when anyone beneath him on the social scale decided to take a clap at him, he couldn’t help but say one thing. However, his words were seemingly lost on the man, for Cid practically jumped out of his chair and pushed passed him in a hurry. Getting more annoyed at Cid’s undying lack of respect, Somnus was about to go off on one until he saw what had alerted the man. 

It was Cor and he was crying. 

_Oh shit. What has happened now?_ Somnus thought to himself, gesturing for Gilgamesh to leave to give Cid and Cor some privacy, as the old man wrapped his brother-in-law up in a hug.

* * *

The tears just wouldn’t stop and he couldn’t breathe. All he knew was that Cid was there, holding him and he was in the mist of some sort of panic attack. Cor was trying so hard not to choke on his own tears he couldn’t even register what Cid was trying to tell him. He was saying something to him though. It was muffled. That didn’t matter to Cor right now. He was just glad he had his honorary dad there, someone he knew he could always 100% rely on no matter what. 

“Kid, it’s alrigh’ just breathe.” 

“I-I- can’t-” 

“Ya can.” 

Cor’s panic started to heighten when he felt Cid pull away from their hug. He reached out for him, but all he got was a hold of his hand as Cid was doing something else. Less than a few seconds, a bottle of water was forced to his lips and Cor did his best to take a sip but he couldn’t even focus on drinking. He was so consumed by what Aranea had just told him. Why? Why hadn’t Ardyn told him himself? 

“Take a sip.” Cid encouraged. 

Cor shook his head, lightly pushing it away from himself, trying his hardest to count. That was what Stella, his old councillor used to tell him to do when he got like this. Count. 

Through ragged breaths he said them out loud, tears still streaming down his face. “One… two… three… four… five…” 

“That’s it Kid keep countin’.” 

Cid’s gruff voice filled his ears and his hand rubbing his back was settling the knot in his stomach. 

“... six… seven… eight… nine…. ten…” 

“Ya doin’ great.” 

Cor did as he was told and before he knew it he was up to fifty and that was when his breathing was controlled enough to actually take a sip of water. He swallowed the cold water down hard and breathed slowly in through his nose and out through his mouth. He was fine. He was okay. He was fine. 

“Now, Kid, do you want to tell me what that was about?” Cid asked, still rubbing his back. 

Cor wiped his face, looking at the floor, eyes burning as fresh new tears formed in his in. “I… it’s my fault.” 

“What’s ya fault?” 

“You can’t blame Ardyn for this… he hasn’t done anything wrong.” Cor uttered, words turning to shreds as he neared the end of his sentence. When he heard Cid’s voice turn to anger, the Marshal knew he shouldn’t have said a thing.

“If he has made ya cry, then I fuckin’ will.” 

“He hasn’t!” Cor protested, finally looking at Cid. “He’s not the reason why I am crying. I am. Me. It’s my fault.” 

“Kid I don’t see how-” 

“Us breaking up was my fault! If we hadn't done that, if I hadn't lied, then Ardyn wouldn’t have, which given all the information that he had, was well in his rights to do, gone off and slept with someone else! Of course, it’s my fault! It can’t be anyone else's!” 


	3. But We Can Make It Perfect Again

“You two really need to start telling each other things!” Prompto huffed, shaking his head at his dad. “I tell Iggy everything and I can count the number of problems we have ever had on one hand! This isn't healthy, dad!” 

“I know. I know. I am sorry.” Ardyn replied, getting agitated as he had just received a text from Somnus saying that Cor was with Cid. “I… I thought I was doing the right thing.” 

“Yeah you did, no one will dispute that. But you should have told him. You should have told him when dad got better. He probably won’t even blame you; he’ll end up blaming himself.” 

“That’s what I don’t want. None of this is his fault-” 

“It isn’t anyone's. But you know what it feels like when you hear the love of your life has slept with someone else, stop fussing over the blame and think about that, dad.” Prompto ordered, getting visibly irritated. 

Why did this always happen? It seemed like ever since he was diagnosed with an eating disorder the pair of them would have fights, make up, get to a really good place and then one of them would cock it up somehow. Prompto knew better than to judge or compare his relationship to anyone else's, but seriously… Gladio communicated better with his one night stands than his dads, who had been in a 31-year-relationship, do! Even Noctis! He was only with Luna for six weeks and even he got it right! He got it so right in fact, they now had Seren running circles around them. 

Ardyn's face saddened. “That’s the thing Prom. I know exactly what it feels like. Trust me, you would not want to be in your father’s head right now. That’s why I am so worried and that’s why I'm blaming myself over this.”

Prompto rubbed his face, his level of frustration reaching a new height. “Dad… if you think his head is going to get messed up it will. He loves you. He is so dependent on you, any thought you have of him comes true. Don’t blame yourself, he’ll be overcome with guilt for making you think that way. And don’t let him blame himself either. I am not losing my dads over something that happened 7 years ago! Get a grip and talk it through. Don’t even say you're sorry, you don’t need to, and he probably doesn’t want to hear it! Just be there for him because that is all he wants. He wants you, no one else.” 

Ardyn nodded, pride for his son’s thought process and words, forever growing. “Prom… what would I do without you?” 

“Been Ardyn Leonis without a son.” Prom shrugged, not liking the thought. 

“No, I wouldn’t. Without you, my darling Sunbeam, I won’t be worthy of that name. You and your father make me better, so thank you for your advice. I promise I will go and sort this out.” Ardyn stated, walking over to Prom to kiss him on the forehead. “I love you, Sunbeam.”

“I love you too dad.” Prom smiled back, stepping away from his dad. “Now, go and make my other dad smile, or I’ll kick your arse.” 

Ardyn let out a massive laugh. “I am so scared.” 

“Go!” 

“Of course, of course.” Ardyn said in a hurry, disappearing into thin air.

Prompto loved his parents no matter what, but by the Gods they were thick! Hadn’t they learnt that secrets only tore them apart? Prompto only hoped that was the last secret Ardyn had. He didn’t even want to imagine what Cor would do to himself if Ardyn had another as shocking as that one tucked away somewhere.

* * *

“Cor, listen to Cid, this isn’t your fault.” 

Cor shook his head at Somnus’s soft voice, and rubbed his tired red eyes. He didn’t understand why Somnus had suddenly come here to help Cid look after him. He didn’t want Somnus. All he wanted was his dad. Plus, Somnus was making this shit so much worse. He had no idea what the hell he was fucking talking about. 

“It is!” Cor argued back, wiping his nose with his sleeve. 

“Kingy back off would ya, ya makin’ him more upset.” Cid asked impolitely. 

“Cor that is the last thing I want to do, but if you listen to me I can explain something to you.” 

“What? That my husband had sex with someone else when we weren’t together?! It doesn’t get anymore black and white than that Somnus! It is my fault!” 

“No it isn’t.” Somnus said, kneeling on the floor so he was at eye level with the Marshal. “It wasn’t like that, okay? Ardyn was upset. Very upset and he wouldn’t stop crying. All this crap messing around with your head right now was on a suggestion I made. I suggested that he go out and fuck the pain out of his system. He didn’t want to, Cor. He was horrified I said that. He really was. And I was concerned for his mental state, so I kept suggesting it and eventually he did do it. But he wouldn’t have if I hadn’t planted the idea in his brain. When he came back afterwards, he was more upset then when he left. I am sorry I did that. You can’t blame yourself for this and you can’t blame Ardyn either.” 

More hot tears fell from the Marshal’s eyes but they weren’t out of pain. “You… you did that?” 

Somnus nodded with regret. “I didn’t think you’d get back together-” 

“No. You did that to try and help your brother.” Cor sniffed. “You say you're a horrible person and you’re really not.” 

Somnus and Cid were not expecting that reaction at all. If anything they both thought Cor was going to take his pain and tears out on the Founder King not praise him for it. 

“Kid… ya do understand what he just said right?” Cid asked in bewilderment. 

Cor replied weakly. “Yeah… I do. Why can’t you be selfless like this all the time?” 

“Umm… I am not sure that is what you are meant to take away from this Cor?” Somnus said with caution, still expecting a massive blow out from him. 

Cor shrugged, tears threatening to fall once more. “You told me not to blame anyone. I am trying. I still blame myself though… I shouldn’t have lied.” 

“And I should have told you.” 

Cor inhaled sharply three times when Somnus moved out of the way and Ardyn came into his view. The Marshal wept and threw his arms over Ardyn’s shoulders. Cor shut his eyes tight as he felt his husband gently place his hand to his head and stroke his hair softly.

“I am sorry.” Ardyn whispered. 

“Don’t be sorry. Don’t be sorry, please.” Cor begged. 

“Only if you don’t blame yourself. Never blame yourself for the actions of another my darling.” 

“... I love you. What happened, it’s fine.” 

“You crying is never fine.” Ardyn sighed, playing with Cor’s hair. “And I love you too.” 

“And you feeling guilty when you shouldn’t isn’t okay either.” Cor said, wiping his face on Ardyn’s shoulder. 

“Okay. How about this? I won’t feel guilty if you don’t blame yourself. Does that sound good?” 

“I just want you to hold me.” 

“Oh My Marshal. I will always do that, you know that.” Ardyn hummed, kissing his cheek lightly. “And I promise it was just the once-” 

“I don’t want to hear it.” Cor interjected him, holding him closer. “I want to put it behind us please? No blaming. No guilt. Just us.” 

“Agreed. Just us.”

* * *

Aranea rolled her eyes when she saw Ardyn walking towards her, anger consuming him. She knew this was coming. No matter what everyone thought of him, the man still had a nasty temper on him. 

“You have started a war, Miss Highwind.” Ardyn spat. 

“Really?” Aranea asked, very uninterested by his statement. “I wasn’t the one that made my partner cry by not saying a word.” 

“Do. Not. Anger. Me.” Ardyn threatened, eyes glowing. 

“I am not trying to, Your Grace.” Aranea responded bluntly. “To be truly honest with you, I can’t see what he is upset about. You're nothing special, I’ve had better.” 

Ardyn laughed. “You think that will offend me? The only way you have managed to offend me today is by informing my husband of something that could have pushed him over the edge! And if he had you wouldn’t be breathing anymore.” 

“You think you are so scary, don’t you? You ain’t, you’ve turned into a softy. That ain’t a bad thing but I am not scared of you. So enough with the threats, cause I don’t have to help save humanity from  _ your _ daemons and I won’t if you keep threatening me. So button it Adagium I am not in the mood for it.”

Aranea went to leave. She was fed up with clearing up everyone’s mess. True, she probably should have kept her mouth shut about their one night stand, but if Ardyn hadn't lied and said Cor already knew she wouldn’t have tried to say sorry. In that respect she blamed Ardyn. 

“It wasn’t a threat. It’s a statement.” Ardyn called after her. 

“Yeah whatever, I worked for Niflheim! They made threats all the time. All of ‘em idiots who thought they were better than everyone else cause they have the newest toy! And your ancient history!” Aranea shouted back, not bothering to look over her shoulder or stop. 

She didn’t get a response to that. Good. However, she knew she had pushed it too far. She may not be scared of him right now, cause the man was on a leash of his own making. But if it broke… considering his husband cried, Aranea wouldn’t be surprised if the first thing he wanted to tear to shreds was her. She’d have to be more vigilant for the next couple of months. Just to be on the safe side. After all, there was no longer such thing as an irrational fear of the dark. Stepping into the shadows came hand in hand with the monsters of the night. His monsters. So yeah… she’d keep her distance from now on and perhaps not speaking to the Marshal would go in her favour.

* * *

Trying to make Cor smile, Ardyn kept kissing his nose. He didn’t get a smile but he did get a snuggle for his troubles. That wasn’t enough. Ardyn was determined to return the smile that was plastered over his husband’s face a little less than 8 hours ago. He tried tickling him, but it didn’t work. He tried playing with Cor’s hair, but that only made him drowsy. Ardyn tried telling Cor funny, weird and wonderful stories, all of it ended the same way; Cor laying on his chest without his wonderful smile. 

Ardyn couldn’t have that. 

“My Marshal, what can I do to make you smile again?” 

“Just be here.” Cor said, rubbing his face against Ardyn’s chest. 

“Or I could boop you.” Ardyn grinned, touching Cor’s nose. “Boop!” 

“You are strange.” Cor said, giving his husband a bizarre look. 

“Prompto taught me that.” 

“Where do you think he gets his strangeness from?” 

“Why you my dear!” 

“Guess again.” Cor said, cracking a very very small smile. 

Upon seeing it, Ardyn rubbed his face into Cor’s blonding hair and decided to not comment. It may be small, but it was enough to know that his husband was in a better place then where he was a few hours ago. 

“I am so glad you're my husband.” Ardyn whispered lovingly. 

“Me too.” Cor yawned.

“Tired?” 

Cor nodded. 

“You get some sleep then my darling. Everything will look brighter in the morning- we don’t have morning anymore… tomorrow. Everything will look brighter tomorrow!” 

Cor couldn’t fight his laughter that time. He sat up and kissed Ardyn on the lips. “You are funny.” 

Ardyn kissed him back. “Glad to know. But darling, really quick before you do go into noddyland, do you forgive me?” 

“You forgave me for lying. So yeah I do.” 

“Thank you.” 

“That’s okay Ass Hat.” Cor said, giving him one final kiss, before sinking back into Ardyn’s chest, laying his head directly on his heart. “Night.” 

“Good night my darling Marshal.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A fluffy ending cause I was so horrible and stole the fluffiness in the first chapter XD 
> 
> I hope you have all enjoyed it :)

**Author's Note:**

> I will also point out this is not Aranea's secret, that is coming soon as well.


End file.
